How much is CC offering for that Panny?
Fotoconnection has it for
$1699
If Fotoconnection scares you, then you could just buy it from 'ol reliable (aka Onecall.com) for
$1849
As far as the Sony Wega is concerned, you can get that one from onecall for
$2249
or you could also get it from fotoconnection for
$1799
Keep in mind, though, the Sony KDF42WE655 is an intergrated HDTV, that is, it has an
internal ATSC tuner whereas the
Panny does not this is the main reason the WE655 is more expensive....
I, for one, perfer TVs without intergrated tuners as you are locked into the quality (usually the lack therof) of the internal tuner.....a seprate set-top box is the way to go, IMO)
At any rate, a more direct competitor to the Panasonic PT43LC14 would be the
Sony Wega KF42WE610 which costs
$2099 @ Onecall and will run you around
$1699 @ fotoconnection just like the Panny...
Now, you say you don't like Sammy DLPs but what most people don't know is there are quite a few different versions of DLP chips and light engines in various models of Sammy's DLPs all with various PQ performance(naturally)
Samsung makes it unnecessarily fucking confusing but it goes a little somethin' like dis'
HIT IT!!11
When viewing a Sammy DLP RPTV there are 2 things you should first look for and both of them reside in the model number.
TEH MOST IMPORTANT DATA
#1-the letters in the beggining of the model number (like HLN, HLP or HLN-W1)
TEH 2ND MOST IMPORTANT DATA
#2-also make sure you pay attention to the last 2 numbers in the model number (like 07,63, 65, 74, 85 or 97)
In 2003, we had the original HLN Sammy DLPs: seven models that came in five sizes-43", 46", 50", 56" and 61".(the first 2 numbers in the model number) They have identical electronics and inputs. They vary only in size, looks, and price. These all have the HD2 DLP chips before all the enhancements, have 1000:1 contrast ratio and a six segment, 9000RPM color wheel
....so if you see this:
Samsung HLN617W
....you know you are looking at a
2003 model
7 series Samsung DLP TV that has a
61-inch diagonal
Widescreen with the
HD2 chip with no enhancements.....dig it??
So then, in early 2004, Samsung started shipping the HLN-W series DLPs....these were in the same 5 sizes but the changes to the original HLN were:
A)completely new electronics
B)a new Remote control
C)all 3 component inputs accept 480i/p, 720p, 1080i
D)new version of firmware, which also allows you to select a video input label, not enter your own
The actual DLP chip and light engine in the HLN-W1s is the same as the original HLNs but if you see a Sammy TV with the model#
Samsung HLN507W1
(notice the 1 at the end) you will know it has the enhancements stated above......lost yet?....shit, we're just getting started :lol
If you are wondering what the last 2 numbers mean....well...that depends(yeah, I know...WTF?).....in some cases, its just cosmetics..the "7s" (HLN437, HLN507, and HLN617) have the Charcoal bezel( about 2"). The "65s"(HLN4365 and HLN5065) have the silver bezel and the "67s" (HLN467 and HLN567) have a brushed aluminum thin silver bezel, in other Tvs the numbers give you a clue as to the electronics inside(Tanus), in others both are true(65s) and in one case, niether is true!!!11......asleep yet?....if not, you will be after the HLP section
HLPs
Okeydokey....there are FOUR different models of HLPs (a 50 and 56 inch
85 series, a 56 and 46-inch
74 "Tanus" series, a 46, 50 and 61-inch
63 series PLUS a 56-inch "Tanus" version of the 63 series, just to fuck everyone up :lol) and these are the current 2005 models
Lastly we have the top-of the line
97 series in two sizes, the 56-inch HLP5697W and the 61-inch HLP6197W both of which are classified as early 2006 Samsung models....never mind the fact the REAL 2006 Sammys will arrive next summer and will be called HLXs :lol
These ELEVEN TVs are all HLPs...BUT.....[Singing] None of these HLPs are quite like the other[/Singing]
Finding out which HLP is/has what is a FUCKING NIGHTMARE but this is it in a nutshell:
HLP5085W and HLP5685W and the HLP5674W "Tanus" and HLP4674W "Tanus" feature-
upgraded HD2+ DLP chip (the best 720p chip TI offers currently)
3000:1 contrast
DarkChip2
Cinema Smooth Gen 4 Light Engine
HDMI input
Faroudja DCDi FLI2300(the best on the market, currently)
7 Segment color wheel(older versions of both TVs have the older 6 seg. wheel...don't ask me why)
Moving down to the four "63 series" TVs, the HLP6163W, the HLP5063W the HLP4663W AND the 56-inch HLP5663W "Tanus" have what the above 85's and 74s have...BUT they also have:
A 6 segment color wheel
HD3 DLP chip
"SmoothPicture"
HD3 and Smoothpicture is a mini-saga in itself :lol
Basicly, HD3 is a HALF 720p chip!!!....let me explain..The DLP chip for the HD3 has an array of 640x720 diamond shaped(not square, like the HD1s, HD2s, HD2+s and the Matterhorns) micromirrors, which, in normal DLP chips each represent pixels (720 rows of mirrors in 1280 collums of mirrors) but here represent 1.5 pixels each (I can hear the collective WTF?? from here)
The 0.5 pixel is a second 'woblulation' (I am not making that up, its actually called that)mirror that shifts the horizontal pixels over every 1/120th of a sec(2 passes per frame) to create a 1280 pixel horizontal resolution on screen.
Hewlett-Packard press release about woblulation tech
Every micromirror on the DMD displays 2 pixels on screen There is some overlap of the pixels, giving HD3 sets a softer image than the HD2+ sets. The HD3 DMD's were developed by TI to provide a lower cost alternative for manufacturers to the HD2+ DMD. Smoothpicture is an interpolation algorithm designed to reduce artifacts introduced by the half resolution HD3
The top-of the line 56-inch HLP5697W and the 61-inch HLP6197W are due out any day now have the "1080p" xHD3 chip that really isn't 1080p....
The xHD3 is similar to HD3 in that it is half the resolution of 1080p (its actually 960x1080 pixels that are sampled @ 120HZ with 1/2 pixel shift via wobulation) and has SmoothPicture and the Darkchip3 chip (contrast enhancement)....so then, since the HD3 really isn't 720p and the xHD3 isn't really 1080p, they must be inferior to TRUE 1080p/720 techs like the JVC Dilas and Sony SXRDs, right???
Well....yes and no.....
I am not going to go into great detail, but just trust me when I say that although the HD3/xHD3 are slightly worse on TV and movies, they are better with games, internet, computer documents and anything else whose original content is based on digital square pixels and not analog picture samples (DVDs, TV shows, Movies)..at any rate, here are the xHD3 specs
1080p Resolution
7 Segment Color Wheel
3,000:1 Contrast Ratio
Built in ATSC Tuner
Cable Card Slot
I hope this answers some of your questions because I am tired now :lol
Sony's are good, of course, but I personally own a direct-view Samsung HDTV that I do most of my gaming on.
